Improvement in explosive projectiles



J. N. SMITH.

SHELL.

Patented Dec. 8, 1863.

J. NOTTINGHAM SMITH, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF ANDW. B. HEADLEY, SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN EXPLOSIVE PROJECTI LES Specification forming part ofLetters Patent No; 40,888, dated December 8, 1863; antedated December 1,1863.

To all whom it may concern:

,Beit known that I, JOSEPH-NOTTINGHAM SMITH, of Jersey City, in thecounty of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new andImproved Explosive Projectile; and I do hereby declare that 'thefollowing is a full and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification Figure 1being an outsideview of the projectile; Fig. 2, a central longitudinalsection thereof; Fig. 3, a transverse section, near the rear end.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all the figures. v

The missile consists of two principal parts the shaft A, togethewwitlithe charge of powder, and the head B. The 'rear end, 0, of the shaft Aisalso a shell of itself. Theshaft A fills the whole length of the bore ofthe mortar or ordnance from which it is thrown, while the head B remainsoutside of the I, muzzle. There are two principal advantages gained bythis arrangement: First,it obviates the resistance of the atmosphericpressure against the projectile in the gun; second, it enables the headB to be larger than the bore of the gun, and of any desired shape, sothat advantage is taken of this to add spiral or oblique wings M M toits periphery, substantially as represented, to give a revolving motionto the projectile, constantly increasing in velocity as it passesthrough the air. This construction also enables me to use a peculiarprotecting-cap, G, the office and advantages of which will presentlyappear. The head B is divided into an even number (generally four) ofseparate. chambers or cavities b b, which, when cast without the centralbolt, E, of the shaft, are all in one chamber, and readily molded withcores; but when the head is placed on the shaft A, over its centralbolt, E, the cavities are thereby divided into separate ones, butcommunicating by single small apertures s s, Fig. 2, so that they mayexplode simultaneously. \Vithin each of these cavities b b is located ahammer or elbow-shaped lever, H. It has a rounded pivot hub or ball,located in a suitable socket in the wall of the-head, wherein it isallowed a vibratory movement to the extent required. The inner arm, h,of each ham- Uponthe inner arm, 71, of the alternate or opposite-hammersare respectively situated nipples e e, forpercussion-caps or their equivalents, so that when the outer projecting arms,

ff, of the hammers are suddenly forced backward, and the inner arms,by'consequence, driven forward, the percussion-caps strike suitablehammer-faces on the interior surface of'the shell-case, as indicated aty, Fig. 2, and

are exploded thereby, thus ignitingthe explo sive material in the headB. The intermediate alternate or opposite hammerarms, hi1, are connectedwith wires Z Z, which extend back through the central hollow of theshaft A, for the purpose of actuating hammers m m in the rear end of theprojectile, to explode percussion-caps n n, and, therebysimultaneouslyignite the explosive material in both the front and rear ends of themissile. The cap G is secured upon the projecting end of the shaft-boltE by nut and screw K, and it has as many arms 9 g as there are hammers HH. The arms 9 g are placed in front of the spiral wings M M, and serveto direct the air thereto, and assist in their action. In the rear endof each of these arms is a cavity, a, which fits over, without touching,one of the projecting arms f of itshamnier, and thus secures it frompremature explosion by any accidental shock produced in handling orfiring off. Each arm 9 also fits closely and tightly over saidhammerarm, being suitably packed for the purpose, thereby protecting theexplosive material from dampness and exposure; but while these cap armsthus serve as protectors to the exploding-hammers, in the act ofhandling and firing, on the otherhand, when the projectile reaches itsdestination, theypromote the sure explosion of the shell. To this endthe arms 9 g are made quite small and weak at one place,

w, in each, so that they are readily broken there when an object isstruck, and the consequent forcing backward of the broken arms addsgreatly to the certainty of a cting' on the shaft A. Thus the hammersare free to move,

unimpeded by the explosive, material itself. The wires Z Z and theforward motion of the missile keep the hammers back from prematurelyexploding thecaps. A central aperture, a, in this hammer-case affords acom- 'munication from the front cavity, a, of the shaft backward toadditional shell CD in the extreme rear end of the projectile. The shell0 is divided into several distinct chambers, c c, Fig. 3, separated bypartitions, but all communicating with the central aperture when cast,so as to be molded With-cores in one piece. This central cavity isfilled by the plug D, thus completely separating the chambers c a intoclose apartments, except small notches q q. through which lugs orprojections 19 p of the plug D pass, and then,- by turning part wayround against inclined surfaces, the plug is tightly held in place.These notches q q finally serve as fuse-openings to the chambers c c.There is also a fuse-plug, r, similarly securedfor the inner end of theshell-plug D.

The plug D is packed at o, as shown, as wellas the plug r.- In theperiphery of the shaft A are also cavities i i, all communicating withthe central fuse chamb'er, a, and in each of these'cavities is a smallshell, I, with fuseplug j, to be fired from the common fuse-chambena.'All of these little shells explode after the projectile strikes, andthey are driven from it in all directions. These cavities i i arearranged in longitudinal rows, as shown, so that the'weakest parts ofthe shaft are in those longitudinal lines, in order that the shaft maydivide in those lines, and have its fragments sent in all directions.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The arrangement of the bent levers H H in pivot-sockets in the wallof the missile, as also in relation to thefront and rear shells, so asto simultaneously fulfill the two functions of direct hammers, and,through connecting wires, of operating other hammers in a distinct partof the missile, substantially as herein specified.

2. The protecting-cap G, with its hollow cap-arms g g, constructed,arranged, and operating substantially as herein set forth.

7 3. The arrangementof the spiral wings M M, in combination with thearms 9 g of the cap G, asherein set forth.

4:. Locating separate shells in the extreme ends of the projectile, andexploding them simultaneously by the connecting-wires Z Z, or 7 theirequivalent, substantially as herein described.

5. The separate inclosed hammer-chambers N N, as set forth.

6. The peculiar construction and combination of the rear muIti-chamberedshell 0 and plug D, as set forth.

J. NOTTINGHAM SMITH. Witnesses:

G." A. ZSQHAU, R. S. TILDEN.

